The Cake: I found ideas for multi-layer cakes at several different party websites online. I decided to go a little farther than the ones I'd found online and do an eight layer cake. I was so nervous that it wasn't going to hold up overnight but it did! I removed a shelf in my fridge and kept it in there until an hour before the party. I used food coloring in the white cake mix (one box of white cake mix split in half for 2 layers). I used a 1/3 of a can of white frosting in between each layer of cake. Next time, I'd probably try to use the spray frosting can instead just because it would be faster and easier and tear the cake less. It took an entire can of frosting for the top and outside layers of frosting. You want to make it have ridges so you can throw sprinkles onto it sideways. If you make the frosting smooth, the sprinkles won't stick well. It's a lot of fun to make and very exciting to celebrate it's outcome so don't be scared! Make it Happen!
Jello Champagne cups: I used jello mix that was the different colors of my party and poured the liquid mixture directly into champage cups that I bought at the Dollar Store (8 for $1). Then I put them in the fridge overnight to set and they turned out so cute! The boys enjoyed eating out of the cups and trying to figure out how the jello got in there so perfectly.
The Outfits: I bought red and green shirts at Joann's Craft store when they were on sale at 5 shirts for $10. The boys were excited to see them when they walked into the party! I found their cute mustaches for 20 cents each at Party City. You can also find them online at Oriental Trading. I bought the red and green baseball caps at Michaels for 69 cents each on clearance! That was an exciting find. I will say that the mustaches don't last long so make sure you wait to give them to your guest until you are ready to take the group photo. I did a group photo of all 8 boys together, then a photo of each boy with my birthday boy, then a group shot of the school friends and a seperate group shot of the baseball team friends. I highly recommend you always take photos of your party details and definitely ones of the guests. Photos help you plan future parties and remember all the fun you had years later. They also are great for sharing with friends who would like an idea for their own party. :)
The Colors: one of the most exciting parts of this party for me as the planner was the color scheme. I LOVED doing these four colors. They are so easy to work with and get inspired by. I bought plastics (plates, cups, napkins, serving dishes, silverware, cheap table covers, etc) all in these 4 colors and then mixed them up in the presentation. Red plates with yellow cups with blue napkins with green straws.
I also printed out the boys names on a plain piece of paper in a cute font with those same colors and then taped it around the water bottles to add flair to those. You can get fancier and look around online at websites to find even more embellished water bottle labels. I also puffy painted some simple dots on the tops of the water bottles just to make them "pop" a bit more.
Curling Ribbon: One of my favorite ways to add detail and fun to a party is to use tons of curling ribbon on everything. I LOVE to enhance the simplest of things by adding severals colors of curling ribbon. How do I find the time when it's such a minor detail? I find it peaceful to grab the curling ribbon, scissors and the subject while I sit in front of the tv after the kids go to bed and watch my favorite guilty pleasure (input current reality show). Then I cut and curl to my heart's content. :)
Bracket Board: My husband made a Bracket Board (the yellow poster board looking thing you see in the photos) that kept track of the MarioKart games the boys played. The board listed each of the boys names then the different rounds they played in the Winner's Bracket. The boys were split into 2 groups of 4. One group on one tv and another group on the 2nd tv.
The Game and Party Room Set Up: We moved our rug, coffee table and 2 couches out of the living room onto our back patio. That opened the space up for our party. It was quick, simple and worth the 10 minutes of effort. We had our living room tv already set up with our Wii box and MarioKart game. We moved our bedroom tv out to a different wall in the living room for the other team to use (there were 4 boys at each tv). We borrowed the second Wii box with remotes from a friend and rented the 2nd MarioKart game from Blockbuster. The boys LOVED playing the games together in groups. It took about an hour or so to do the rounds.
Food/Drinks: I kept the food simple and went with Dominos pizza. Boys love it and I'd rather spend the time on all the details and fun. The drinks were Root Beer Floats (a party favorite) and the jello cups. They also enjoyed the fabulous cake (see photo).
If you have any questions about the party details or photos, feel free to leave a comment. :)
Scroll down two posts to see all the fun photos of the details above.
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